Etymograph

English

malapert

Malapert comes from Middle French malappert.

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600malappert
  2. Englishearliest quotation a. 1530malapert

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600malappert
  2. Englishearliest quotation a. 1530malapert

Earliest quotation: a. 1530, John Skelton, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […]: “The follest slouen ondyr heuen, / Prowde, peuiche, lyddyr,…”

Formed from mal- ‘not, badly’ + apert ‘open, revealed’

Proto-Italic *malos

Archaic Latin malos

Latin malus ‘bad’

Latin male ‘badly’

English mal-

Proto-Italic *apweriō

Latin aperiō ‘to uncover, make or lay bare’

Latin apertus ‘uncovered, exposed, militarily undefended’

Old French apert

Middle English apert

English apert

Every English word from Middle French malappert

Today it means

noun A cheeky, impudent, or saucy person.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Middle French malappert / malapert

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